Meet the chef who provides some of the most sought-after experiences in New York.
It’s a tough time to be a rebel. There’s not a lot we haven’t seen, and anything we might wish to see, or dream up, is less than a click away. What’s an iconoclast to do? Making something is a good start. Real things, not just content, can exist in the world, turning heads and changing minds. These 10 creatives—all in Chanel Fine Jewelry for this portfolio—might not have permanent solutions, but they are just getting going. What they’ve accomplished so far sets them apart and raises the bar for what’s next.
DeVonn wears J12 watch by CHANEL Watches and Coco Crush quilted motif ring in 18k white gold by CHANEL Fine Jewelry
DEVONN CHARLES FRANCIS
CHEF
Instagram: @devonncharlesfrancis
“You can’t avoid food as a product of cultural exchange,” says DeVonn Charles Francis, who provides some of the most sought-after experiences in New York with his culinary studio, Charles & Francis, formerly Yardy. Francis grew up between Norfolk, Virginia, and his parents’ native Jamaica, where his father owned a restaurant. The artistically inclined Francis studied painting and performance at Cooper Union, but was drawn to the restaurant biz, spending years working front of house at Ignacio Mattos’s Estela before leaving to start Yardy and become a private chef in 2017.
As his food influence grew (he hosted videos for Bon Appétit and led the media department at Food Education Fund), Yardy became not only a locus of dining and experience, but also a place where people could reframe their relationship to food and culture, starting with his own. “I love Jamaica because it was my first research into what regional cuisine could look like,” he says. He notes that that regionality is a product of colonialism, with “inflections of Indian, African, Spanish, British, Chinese influences—based on labor conditions, tourism, and history.”
More recently, he’s gone back to basics, “by giving myself a crash course on what it means to work through different techniques.” He’s been playing with pastry, seafood, and science (“I’m doing lots of fermentation projects right now”) and actively looking for a brick-and-mortar home for Charles & Francis. Naturally, the notion is not singular: “I’ve always seen it as more of a showroom versus a restaurant,” he says.
Taken from 10 Magazine USA Issue 6 – CHANGE, CREATIVITY, FREEDOM – out March 18th! Order your copy here.
THE NEW MAKERS
Photographer CARLOS RUIZ
Talent TONI CORNELL, TIFFANY HOWELL, GABRIELLE RICHARDSON, DEVONN CHARLES FRANCIS, LAURA ZHENG, AVA PEARLMAN, ANNA PARK, ELIZABETH KOURY, ARMANDO AGUIRRE, and ELLEN HARROLD
Text JOHN ORTVED
Instagram: @jortved
